Sempra Partners with BP on Hawaiian Wind Farm

San Diego’s Sempra U.S. Gas & Power has announced that it will partner with BP Wind Energy to develop a project known as the Auwahi Wind farm in Hawaii. When completed, the project would generate 21 megawatts of energy, enough to power about 10,000 homes.

Ground was broken on construction in late April, and power generation should begin by the end of the year.

In addition to wind generators, the project will include a battery bank capable of storing up to 4 megawatt hours’ worth of electricity, in order to compensate for the intermittent nature of wind generation.

Sempra has already entered a long-term contract to sell energy generated from the wind farm to Maui Electric Company. Hawaii has stated a goal of generating 40 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2030. California has similarly ambitious goals, seeking to source 33 percent of power from renewable by 2020.